Pages

Wednesday, 24 November 2010

The Fetters of Fenrir

“ Among the Aesir is he whom some call the mischief-monger of the Aesir, and

the first father of falsehoods, and blemish of all gods and men... ”

- LOKI, THE TRICKSTER

Loki - The Trickster
Image taken from the 18th century Icelandic
manuscript SÁM 66.

Among the Aesir, or war gods of the Norse lands, there was one who never truly belonged. For while all other gods were descended from Búri, Loki was half Jötunn (for the origin of these races, click here) with Fárbauti, a Giant, as his father and Laufey, a god, as his mother. For while in his most common physical form Loki resembled the Aesir and men, in his heart he bore the wanton cruelty of the most savage among the Jötunn. One of the most notorious tricksters of all time, “He surpassed other men in that wisdom which is called sleight”, able to shape shift at will and take the form of any being, mortal and immortal, monster and man. Though friend to the Aesir in the beginning, Loki and his progeny would one day spell doom for the nine worlds, its gods and men.

In secret, Loki begat with the Jötunn Angrboða three fearsome offspring. The first was the great wolf, Fenrir, famous for his strength. The second, Jörmungand, was a serpent fated one day to be the mortal nemesis of the god Thor. The third was a daughter, Hel. The gods, however, soon learned of a prophecy that warned of their doom at the hands of Loki’s brood, conceived in the land of Jötunheim. Odin ordered the gods to take the offspring and bring them before him. Turning first to Jörmungand, the King of the gods grasped the snake by his tail and hurled him into the ocean which surrounds Midgard (the realm of men). Odin then rounded on Hel. Casting her into Niflheim, Odin gave her power and rule over the dead of each of the Nine Worlds. Those who henceforth died of sickness or old age would ‘go to Hel’. Niflheim was ever after a grim place, where:

“ Her hall is called Sleet-Cold; her dish, Hunger; Famine is her knife;

Idler, her thrall; Sloven, her maidservant; Pit of Stumbling, her threshold;

Disease, her bed; Gleaming Bale, her bed-hangings... ”

- THE LAND OF HEL

Fenrir bound
Image taken from the 18th century Icelandic
manuscript SÁM 66.

Hel herself resembled a beautiful woman on one half of her body, and that of a rotting corpse on the other. Things were not going to Odin’s plan, for Loki’s children only grew in power. Jörmungand terrorized the high seas, and soon grew to such gargantuan size that his coils could encircle the entire world and take his own tail in his mouth. Hel’s minions grew vast in number, and at her command, the mighty dragon, Nidhogg, began to gnaw at the roots of the World Tree, Yggdrasill. Guarding her gates, the hound of hell known as Garm, unlike his Greek counterpart Cerberus, was possessed of demonic bloodlust, and his chest was at all times dripping with human blood. It is written that Ragnarök, the doom of the gods, will be heralded by Garm’s roar sounding throughout the Nine Worlds, as the hound is no longer to be sated by human blood, but thirsts for the very life-force of gods. But most pressing among the Aesir’s problems was Fenrir. The gods had raised the Wolf as their own in their home of Asgard, with only Tyr, the god of war and heroic glory, brave enough to feed scraps of meat to him. Soon, like his brother Jörmungand, Fenrir began to mature. The gods grew fearful of how much Fenrir grew every day, and mindful of the prophecy foretelling their own doom at his hands the gods conceived a plan. They could not simply kill the Wolf, as the shedding of blood of one they had raised would pollute the sanctity of Asgard forever. Instead they turned to trickery of their own.

The Aesir forged a very strong fetter, called Laedingr, and brought it before the Wolf. The gods asked Fenrir if he would test his strength against the chain. Fenrir considered this “no overwhelming odds” and let the gods do as they wished. To the horror of the Aesir, however, the fetter was broken at the Wolf’s first kick. The Aesir then forged a new fetter, Drómi, stronger again by half than the first chain. The gods flattered the Wolf, and told him that his fame would be great indeed if he could shatter these shackles. The Wolf considered this, and inheriting his father’s evil ways, dreamed of his own legend should he succeed. Reasoning that he must expose himself to risk if he was to become renowned, Fenrir allowed himself to be bound once more:

“ Now when the Aesir declared themselves ready, the Wolf shook himself,

dashed the fetter against the Earth and struggled fiercely with it,

spurned against it, and broke the fetter, so that the fragments flew far... ”

- FENRIR SHATTERS HIS BONDS

Fenrir bites off the hand of Tyr
Image taken from the 18th century Icelandic
manuscript SÁM 66.

Even Odin now grew fearful that they would never bind the monster, and in desperation sent Skírnir, a messenger of the Aesir, to the realm of the dwarves to ask for aid. The dwarves were skilled craftsmen, and made a fetter called Gleipnir out of six things: “the noise a cat makes in foot-fall, the beard of a woman, the roots of a rock, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish and the spittle of a bird”. The Aesir brought Gleipnir before Fenrir, and flattered him once again, assuring him that he would snap it with little effort. To the eye, the dwarven fetter appeared to be no more than a silken ribbon however, and Fenrir was cunning. The Wolf, sensing deception, declared that he would receive no glory for breaking “so slender a band”, but if there be trickery within then he would not allow the fetter to come upon his feet. Desperate, the gods assured Fenrir that they would release him if it proved too strong. But the Wolf, as a son of Loki, would not succumb so easily to deceit. Fenrir agreed to the god’s challenge on one condition, that one among the Aesir rest their hand in his mouth “for a pledge that this is done in good faith”. Looking among each other, their courage buckled, only Tyr strode forth and volunteered to the Wolf’s request.So, his bond fitted, Fenrir lashed out, struggled and churned and writhed against the ribbon. But the dwarves were skilled craftsmen, for whenever the Wolf shuddered, the band grew tighter and hardened. The gods rejoiced at last, all except Tyr, for when he saw their treachery laid before him, Fenrir slammed his jaws shut and violently wrenched the god's hand off. The Aesir dragged the Wolf across the world, and ran his fetter through a rock and bound it deep in the ground. Fenrir tried to bite the Aesir, so they thrust a sword into his mouth. The saliva which ran from his jaw formed a river in Asgard, as the Wolf seethed with rage. However, he still lived, and another prophecy stated that Fenrir will one day gain his revenge, and at Ragnarök, his chains will be broken...

The stories of Norse Mythology are entertaining in their own right, but one of the many enduring motifs within them, is the careful crescendo up to the end of the world. Masterfully, the Norse skalds (bards) slowly and steadily set the scene for Ragnarök, turning god against god as friendships are formed and broken. Those who were once greatest of allies at the creation become worst of foes at the end. It only makes the end more powerful when we know why the tensions have built. It is for this precise reason why studying the past is a path to boundless understanding.